Melodic basis

Traditional Armenian folk music as well as Armenian church music is not based on the European tonal system but on a system of Tetrachords.[1] The last note of one tetrachord also serves as the first note of the next tetrachord - which makes a lot of Armenian folk music more or less based on a theoretically endless scale.

Earlier in Armenian history, instruments like the kamancha were played by popular, travelling musicians called ashoughs. Sayat Nova, an 18th-century Ashough, is revered in Armenia. Performers such as Armenak Shahmuradian, Vagharshak Sahakian, Norayr Mnatsakanyan, Hovhannes Badalyan, Hayrik Muradyan, Raffi Hovhannisyan, Papin Poghosian, and Hamlet Gevorgyan have been famous in Armenia and are still acclaimed. The most notable female vocalists in the Armenian folk genre have been Araksia Gyulzadyan, Ophelia Hambardzumyan, Varduhi Khachatrian, Valya Samvelyan, Rima Saribekyan, Susanna Safarian, Manik Grigoryan, and Flora Martirosian.

Other Armenian musicians include Ara Topouzian who performs on the kanun and VANArmenya,[3] who sings both folk, children's and patriotic songs, performs on keyboards, and promotes the music of "the other Gomidas," Grikor Mirzaian.[4]

There are several folk ensembles from Armenia, the Shoghaken Folk Ensemble, founded in 1995 in Yerevan,[5] has worldwide popularity,[6] and others such as the Arev Armenian Folk Ensemble.

Arto Tunçboyac?yan is a well known Turkish musician of Armenian descent, who is famous in Turkey and worldwide, and currently has his own jazz club in Yerevan, Armenia. He was the founder of the Armenian Navy Band.

Ruben Hakobyan (Ruben Sasuntsi) is a well recognized Armenian ethnographic and patriotic folk singer who has achieved widespread national recognition due to his devotion to Armenian folk music and exceptional talent.

Armenian religious music remained liturgical until Komitas Vardapet introduced polyphony in the end of the 19th century. Apart from his contribution to religious music, Komitas may be considered the founder of modern classical Armenian music. From 1899 to 1910, he travelled through the Armenian highlands and collected more than 3,000 folk tunes many of which he harmonized and transformed into Lieder.

American composer Daniel Decker has achieved critical acclaim for his collaborations with Armenian composer Ara Gevorgian. "Noah's Prayer" (originally entitled "Mush") chronicles Noah's journey to Mount Ararat. "Noah's Prayer" was debuted in 2002 in Sardarapat, Armenia to celebrate Armenian Independence day in the presence of Armenian President Robert Kocharyan, and His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians (head of the Armenian Apostolic Church). A second collaboration called "Adana" tells the story of the Armenian Genocide, during which soldiers of the Ottoman Empire forced 1.5 million Armenians into starvation, torture and extermination. As with their first collaboration, Decker wrote the song's epic lyrics to complement the musical landscape of Ara Gevorgian. Cross Rhythms, Europe's leading religious magazine and web portal said of "Adana", "seldom has a disaster of untold suffering produced such a magnificent piece of art."

Jazz

The first jazz-band of Yerevan was founded in 1936. Soviet Jazz was developed by Armenians such as Artemi Ayvazyan, who founded the Armenian State Estrada Orchestra in 1938. The conventional performers in the vocal genre have been: Georgi Minasian, Artashes Avetyan, and Levon Sevan. There are Jazz influenced singers who are popular in Armenia such as Aramo.

Rabiz is a term which is often used to refer to genre of Armenian popular music. Rabiz music is distinguished by lyrics and music with elements of Armenian folk music.

Despite wide use the term Rabiz is not clearly defined. According to some sources it stems from Russian phrase "? "(raboche'e iskustvo) used during Soviet times, literally meaning "labour's art". But even in this case it lost initial meaning. Though large group of singers and their listeners refer to Rabiz as a music genre, the term is also used widely to refer to a lifestyle. Rabiz refers not only to taste of music, but also to fashion and lifestyle.[9] Although the meaning of this use is largely dependent on personal taste and/or musical preferences of the speaker.

It is listened widely throughout the youth of Armenians in Los Angeles, Armenia, and Russia called rabiz. Rabiz music is music mostly played by musicians such as Tatoul Avoyan and Hayko Ghevondyan. It has taken the face of Armenian music due to its catchy beats and dance type music. Rabiz music is mostly about love or partying called "kef" but also about love to family or Armenia.

The musical language of the rabiz, being a blend of several musical traditions (primarily Armenian national, ashug. [bard-style] and Eastern in the style of the makam [classical court music]), is marked by delicate Eastern harmony and an abundance of melisinas, which allow the musician to achieve the desired effect by purely musical means.[10]

Rabiz music has recently seen unexpected success in Turkey, with the hit "Mi Gna" by Super Sako and Hayko Ghevondyan (also known as Spitakci Hayko) hitting #1 on a Shazam Top 100 list and its video garnering over 120M views on YouTube as of September 14, 2017. [11][12] This success is thought to be a result of the similarity between Armenian and Turkish rhythms and melodies.

Rock

Among the rock bands of the old generation were the "Apostles" of Arthur Meschian,[13] "Vostan Hayots", "Ayas" and Arevatsaq. Interest in young rock bands as Sard, Bambir 2 is increasing, especially after videos for their new songs were shown on local television. Some groups such as Road Movie, Dogma remain in underground, playing concerts in rock clubs.

Hip-hop

Hip-Hop music in Armenia is gradually having notoriety amongst the youth. One of the notable bands was Hay Tgheq ( ?) founded in 2001. Later band members Misho and HT Hayko started their own solo careers. One notable rapper in the United States is R-Mean from Glendale, California. R-Mean gained popularity amongst the Armenian Community with the song Open Wounds which commemorates the Armenian Genocide and started a movement "Open Wounds 1915". The song was recently released with a new video and gained over 260.000 views on YouTube alone. R-Mean has also made songs with multiplatinum rapper Game and Slaughterhouse members Crooked I and Joe Budden. Other Hip-Hop groups were formed in Germany such as Armenios, which was founded in Germany by A-Shot, ArmoX & 15Volt, and Super Sako in the United States.

Armenian musicians from the Diaspora

There is a large number of musicians of Armenian descent or origin but living (or born) outside of Armenia. Some of them are famous all over the world. In France Armenian descent artist Charles Aznavour (born Aznavourian) is much celebrated show and song-stars for decades.[16] In 2009 Armenian-American singer and songwriter Serj Tankian along with his father Khatchadour Tankian sang their rendition of "Bari Arakel" on an Armenian charity telethon. Armenian-American pop artists include Cher, whose real name is Cherylin Sarkissian and all the members of the popular heavy metal band System of a Down. Keyboardist Derek Sherinian is a worldwide rock keyboard legend who has played with Alice Cooper, Kiss, Dream Theater amongst many others. Andy Madadian is a legendary artist who is Armenian-Iranian, and Vigen Derderian is an Armenian-Iranian legendary jazz and pop artist. Vahe Mardirossian another well known guitarist, composer and luthier of Armenian descent, plays flamenco style music on his own custom made, hand crafted flamenco guitars. Armik, an Armenian-Iranian flamenco guitarist and composer. As a guitarist, he is one of the most adulated virtuosos of the Nuevo Flamenco genre, having appeared in Billboard Magazine's Top Ten New Age Artists in 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2008. Armenian-American Pianist/Keyboardist/Composer/Vocalist Danny Bedrosian has been the main keyboardist for Rock and Roll hall of Fame inducted band, George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic (also known as P-Funk) since 2003. He has played with the band at over 850 shows and counting, on all six liveable continents and in over thirty five nations worldwide. Bedrosian has played before crowds as big as almost half a million people. He has likewise appeared on several live and studio albums by the group since his induction in P-Funk; Bedrosian's ancestors hail from Kharpert province, his family descending from Genocide survivors in Kharpert City and Habousi Village. George Mgrdichian, an Armenian musician, played several instruments in the jazz genre. He preferred the clarinet, but also learned the oud while joined with an American band. He died at 71 in 2006.[17]

Samples

Recording of "Erivan bachem arer", an Armenian-American folk song from the Library of Congress' California Gold: Northern California Folk Music from the Thirties Collection; performed a cappella by Ruben J. Baboyan on April 16, 1939 in Fresno, California